HealthSpark Foundation has announced the award of $631,000 in grant funds to support 14 projects under the Safety Net Resiliency Initiative. The grants include 11 Innovation Lab grants and a 2-year grant to continue advocacy efforts through the Here for Us Advocacy Coalition.

It also includes a research and planning grant to support anti-racist practice in homeless services and the development of a social justice curriculum for safety net system providers working in the Montgomery County region.

“HealthSpark Foundation is incredibly grateful to our community partners for identifying projects with true potential to create a more just and sustainable safety net system,” shared President and CEO Russell Johnson.

“The pandemic and our most recent report on the financial health of area nonprofits has shown that to foster a sustainable, financially resilient social sector, we must invest capital to enhance critical organizational and system capacity and think differently.”

Racial and Social Justice Grants

HealthSpark is supporting two projects that will encourage efforts to further greater racial and social justice work among social services providers.

The Foundation has awarded $30,000 to Your Way Home Montgomery County to support its work in developing an explicitly anti-racist housing services triage tool.

The Foundation also awarded $50,000 in planning funds to Bucks-Mont Collaborative in partnership with TriCounty Community Network and Interagency Council of Norristown to support the creation of a multi-year, comprehensive curriculum, building knowledge and practicing on racial and social justice issues.

Some of the project awards include a proof-of-concept project to implement a visiting medical “street medicine” program in Pottstown for homeless individuals, and a grant to the Maternity Care Coalition to improve maternal and child health outcomes through the MontCo Mamas project.

The Foundation’s Innovation Lab grant program provides working capital to community organizations that will create meaningful change. The framework for these grants and projects is described in the Foundation’s Blueprint for a Better Safety Net. 

HealthSpark Foundation is a private, independent foundation serving Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, whose mission is to invest in nonprofit organizations, networks, and coalitions promoting a more just and healthy community.

Read the entire list of project awards and the full HealthSpark Foundation press release here.